Two Warwick High School students killed in crash in front of high school in October

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Updated: 6:42 PM EST Dec 6, 2018

A Mount Joy woman is being charged in connection with a crash that killed two Warwick High School students in October. Debra Slaymaker-Walker, 63, was charged with the following:- Two counts of criminal homicide- Two counts of involuntary manslaughter- One count of simple assault- One count of aggravated assault- One count of recklessly endangering another person- One count of driving at safe speed (a definition of this charge is here)- One count of exceeding maximum speed limit by 52 mph- Two counts of homicide by vehicle- One count of aggravated assault by vehicle- One count of fleeing or attempting to elude officer- One count of reckless driving- One count of accident involving damage attended vehicle/propertyWarwick High School juniors Jack Nicholson and Meghan Keeney were killed in the Oct. 26 crash in front of the high school. Student Rylan Beebe suffered a brain injury. Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman held a news conference about the case on Thursday morning. You can watch the full news conference above.Stedman said authorities aren't suggesting Slaymaker-Walker intended the deaths of the students, but he said she was purposely driving recklessly and no medical condition or medication could have caused it."There's deliberate driving actions that many of us would find difficulty in performing and recreating today," said Stedman. "So that's what we've focused on."Slaymaker-Walker's son says "she doesn't deserve to go to jail," adding that "no one deserves to die either."Court documents reveal detailsBefore the crash happened, police received a 911 call from Penn Township about a reckless driver in a black Kia Sportage, who was "all over the road," according to the affidavit of probable cause. A Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Department officer tried to pull the Kia over, but said it failed to stop. Documents show that a supervising officer decided to discontinue the pursuit. The Kia continued on into Warwick Township.Around 3:18 p.m., the Kia hit the rear of a school bus at the intersection of West Orange Street and Green Acre Road. The bus was damaged, but no students were hurt. But the Kia continued traveling east on West Orange Street, according to the affidavit.A Lititz Borough Police Officer, who heard the school bus crash on the radio, pulled out to respond to it and was nearly hit by the Kia. The officer said the vehicle was traveling at a "high rate of speed" and swerved to avoid a collision.Around 3:19 p.m., the Kia drove past Warwick High School and encountered stopped traffic. The affidavit then states, "Upon encountering the stopped line of traffic, the Kia moved to the far-right portion of the east-bound travel lane, passing the first stopped vehicle in that line of traffic at a high rate of speed." One witness said they Kia sped by him so fast that it shook his truck. Shortly after this, the SUV slammed into multiple vehicles. The affidavit described the collisions as follows:"The Kia side-swiped a 2002 Toyota Sienna which was stopped in the east-bound lane of travel at 1519 hours ... The Kia then struck the front-right of a 2000 Ford Mustang which was stopped in the east-bound lane of travel directly in front of the Toyota Sienna. The Kia then struck a 1996 Dodge Neon which was stopped in the east-bound lane of travel directly in front of the Ford Mustang. The Kia then struck a 2013 Chevrolet Sonic which was stopped in the east-bound lane of travel directly in front of the Dodge Neon. This impact caused the Kia to overturn, but continue to travel east-bound on its roof. While traveling on its roof, the Kia struck a 2010 Subaru Forester and a 2013 Ford Transit, both of which were stopped in the east-bound lane of travel. The 2013 Chevrolet Sonic was pushed into the west-bound lane of travel where it struck a 2018 Nissan Rogue which was traveling westbound."The Warwick students who were killed and injured were in the Chevrolet Sonic.Accident reconstruction shows that before hitting the students, Slaymaker-Walker swerved to avoid hitting a telephone pole, which took her into their vehicle. The reconstruction also indicates that Slaymaker-Walker was driving between 73 and 77 mph, triple the posted speed limit, before she hit the Sonic and Mustang, the affidavit shows."The collision reconstruction determined there was no evidence of Slaymaker-Walker applying her vehicle brakes prior to her encountering and subsequently striking multiple vehicles in the line of stopped traffic," the affidavit states."You pretty much know, particularly in that location, you pretty much know someone's going to get killed," Stedman said.Investigators said during two interviews, Slaymaker-Walker told them she had no recollection of the crash."We may never fully know , and we'll try, and that's part of the process," said Stedman. "This isn't the end. It's the beginning."Another witness said she approached Slaymaker-Walker before the crash (around the time the 911 calls were being made about a reckless driver). The witness said Slaymaker-Walker was stopped in a travel lane on Temperance Hill Road near West Lexington Road and traffic was backing up. The woman said she knocked on the Kia's window, but Slaymaker-Walker did not respond or acknowledge her.Stay with WGAL for updates.

LITITZ, Pa. —

A Mount Joy woman is being charged in connection with a crash that killed two Warwick High School students in October.

Warwick High School juniors Jack Nicholson and Meghan Keeney were killed in the Oct. 26 crash in front of the high school. Student Rylan Beebe suffered a brain injury.

Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman held a news conference about the case on Thursday morning. You can watch the full news conference above.

Stedman said authorities aren't suggesting Slaymaker-Walker intended the deaths of the students, but he said she was purposely driving recklessly and no medical condition or medication could have caused it.

"There's deliberate driving actions that many of us would find difficulty in performing and recreating today," said Stedman. "So that's what we've focused on."

Slaymaker-Walker's son says "she doesn't deserve to go to jail," adding that "no one deserves to die either."

Court documents reveal details

Before the crash happened, police received a 911 call from Penn Township about a reckless driver in a black Kia Sportage, who was "all over the road," according to the affidavit of probable cause. A Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Department officer tried to pull the Kia over, but said it failed to stop. Documents show that a supervising officer decided to discontinue the pursuit. The Kia continued on into Warwick Township.

Around 3:18 p.m., the Kia hit the rear of a school bus at the intersection of West Orange Street and Green Acre Road. The bus was damaged, but no students were hurt. But the Kia continued traveling east on West Orange Street, according to the affidavit.

A Lititz Borough Police Officer, who heard the school bus crash on the radio, pulled out to respond to it and was nearly hit by the Kia. The officer said the vehicle was traveling at a "high rate of speed" and swerved to avoid a collision.

Around 3:19 p.m., the Kia drove past Warwick High School and encountered stopped traffic. The affidavit then states, "Upon encountering the stopped line of traffic, the Kia moved to the far-right portion of the east-bound travel lane, passing the first stopped vehicle in that line of traffic at a high rate of speed." One witness said they Kia sped by him so fast that it shook his truck.

Shortly after this, the SUV slammed into multiple vehicles. The affidavit described the collisions as follows:

"The Kia side-swiped a 2002 Toyota Sienna which was stopped in the east-bound lane of travel at 1519 hours ... The Kia then struck the front-right of a 2000 Ford Mustang which was stopped in the east-bound lane of travel directly in front of the Toyota Sienna. The Kia then struck a 1996 Dodge Neon which was stopped in the east-bound lane of travel directly in front of the Ford Mustang. The Kia then struck a 2013 Chevrolet Sonic which was stopped in the east-bound lane of travel directly in front of the Dodge Neon. This impact caused the Kia to overturn, but continue to travel east-bound on its roof. While traveling on its roof, the Kia struck a 2010 Subaru Forester and a 2013 Ford Transit, both of which were stopped in the east-bound lane of travel. The 2013 Chevrolet Sonic was pushed into the west-bound lane of travel where it struck a 2018 Nissan Rogue which was traveling westbound."

The Warwick students who were killed and injured were in the Chevrolet Sonic.

Accident reconstruction shows that before hitting the students, Slaymaker-Walker swerved to avoid hitting a telephone pole, which took her into their vehicle.

The reconstruction also indicates that Slaymaker-Walker was driving between 73 and 77 mph, triple the posted speed limit, before she hit the Sonic and Mustang, the affidavit shows.

"The collision reconstruction determined there was no evidence of Slaymaker-Walker applying her vehicle brakes prior to her encountering and subsequently striking multiple vehicles in the line of stopped traffic," the affidavit states.

"You pretty much know, particularly in that location, you pretty much know someone's going to get killed," Stedman said.

Investigators said during two interviews, Slaymaker-Walker told them she had no recollection of the crash.

"We may never fully know [why it happened], and we'll try, and that's part of the process," said Stedman. "This isn't the end. It's the beginning."

Another witness said she approached Slaymaker-Walker before the crash (around the time the 911 calls were being made about a reckless driver). The witness said Slaymaker-Walker was stopped in a travel lane on Temperance Hill Road near West Lexington Road and traffic was backing up. The woman said she knocked on the Kia's window, but Slaymaker-Walker did not respond or acknowledge her.

Stay with WGAL for updates.

Warwick High School juniors Meghan Keeney and Jack Nicholson were killed in the crash.